TL-1TH

Always wanted a thinline tele for years, so when a mate told me about pitbull, and i saw they had a kit for it i bought it straight away.

the kit arrived over a month ago but ive been too busy with work to do anything with it until now. Overall im impressed with the quality of the kit, and from what i can tell i lucked out on a blemish free body which is awesome.

only bit that is slightly dissapointing is the pickguard, the cutouts seem pretty ropey, especially around the pickups so im not sure whether to run with it anyway or try sort a better one/cut my own.
I guess because its a non standard shape (only for this model of the tele) the tolerances arent as dialled as they would be with say a regular tele or strat which has been copied a gazillion times-maybe thats why nearly all the thinline builds ive seen on here have omitted the pickguard!

anyway not going to worry about that too much for now, still need to order my woodtone and clean out the neck cavity, plus shape the headstock before its time to sand like crazy
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...o-IMG_0886.JPG
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...0-IMG_0887.JPG

ok everything fits now (pickups and scratchplate). Theres a gap between the scratchplate and neck though, and a gap between the neck and body (on the top side of the neck-despite trying to show this in the pic i managed to get the angle wrong, damn), plus the holes for the pickups are still super ropey. anyone got any ideas how to sort this without getting/making a new pickguard, or am i just being too anal about this?
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...-IMG_08881.JPG
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...-IMG_08891.JPG

A little bit of smoothing around the inner edges should improve the look and the neatness factor. I think you'll end up with a nice looking guitar.

Im with you Gav..

I would get everything finished and set the scratch plate in its final position, but temporarily. Mark out a uniform shape around the pickups and go easy with shaping it. Measure twice, cut once as they say.

That's just me though

Im really liking the look of these Tele's.

Alex

As Gav said do some work on the corners of the neck heel and it will sit snugly against the bottom edge of the pocket.
You can neaten the edges of the 'bucker cutouts with a file, this will make it look a lot nicer.
Also you could take a little bit of timber off te neck side of the rout outs to get the whole thing sitting flush against the neck heel.

Hey BWA, this is a common theme amongst first time customers of ours. They will do a mock build and it just doesn't look right. However, when they come to do the final assembly, in my experience, everything does come together perfectly. I can't explain why this happens, but it does. As Gav and Highce10 have said, get on with your build and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the end. And remember, we have a rock solid guarantee, so if you do have a faulty kit (which I don't think you have) you are entitled to a replacement or refund. Now, stop stressing and start sanding.

Start sanding, then sand some more...

ahaha yeah i was wondering about cutting the neck slot a little deeper, because theres no trem system it shouldnt affect the scale length because i can just pull the bridge back a bit.

im not complaining by the way, im stoked on the kit! great value for money, i was just wondering if there was any cheeky tricks of the trade for sorting the gaps. i was planning on going with it anyway, then if im not happy ill just make a new scratchplate somewhere down the line.

everything else is going together great, cant wait to play it already. ive wanted a thinline tele for years but never had the money til now. then i saw this kit and decided to save some money and get the chance to own something unique. anyway thanks guys, ill be back once ive made some more progress

There is a fair bit of a gap there and if it were me I would attend to it as I have done on my TL-1 kit, can you move the pickups and scratch guard forward a little without hitting the front edge of the cutout with the pickup. If you can't take (very carefully) a router to the holes and route 2 or 3 mm from the front edge (make sure you mark with a pencil where you need to cut to with the router so there are no mistakes) so you can move everything forward, there are of course other bits fitted to the scratch guard on this model so you may have to route several areas to achieve this, you can do this quite successfully with a bit of care. I would only do this if the pickups are hard up against the front of the hole they sit it, if they are not you should be able to adjust the position to get a tight fit. DO NOT CUT OR ROUTE THE NECK without talking to Adam or Dingo first that could prove to be a disaster. If you have already drilled the holes for securing the scratch guard you will need to check if you can move it forward and still be able to secure the plate with the new holes correctly as re-drilling the holes so close to each other may compromise you ability to do this, if you have and drilling other holes will be too close to each other you may look at another screw that is longer so you get a bite into the body of the guitar.
Proceed with caution and you will be ok

ive drilled no holes in the body yet, and i widened the pickup holes carefully by hand using a rasp because the pickups wouldnt quite fit. i can probably file them out a little bit more, theres about a 1mm gap between the pickguard and the neck so it doesnt need to be much

I lost my login and stuff when the forum switched, and put this on the backburner for a few months but ive been cracking on with it lately and making some progress.

ok so i went with the mahogany woodtone, this was after a couple of coats
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps35947751.jpg

the colour came out not as dark as i thought, but sort of richer and slightly orangy, i like it. heres a mock up i did a while back
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psba938c5b.jpg

after this i was slack for a while and didnt get the headstock cut for ages. finally did that at the end of last week. came out nice, i really wish id taken a pic when i first cut the rough shape with a saw, it looked so haggard! some patience and some sandpaper cleaned it up very nicely though
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps4d6de3d4.jpg

once id shaped the headstock, i got the neck drilled and attached-i was so worried about f***ing this bit up and having a misaligned neck. the neck pocket in the body as routed from the factory wasnt super clean and i was hesitant about taking too much material off to fix it. fortunately it seems to have lined up perfectly
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps3e9c6a10.jpg

so here it is how it currently stands. i threw a couple of strings on just to check the alignment.
i was originally sceptical about the vintage yellow on the neck (it was the only colour in stock when i ordered my woodtone so i just went with it) but i think it actually looks pretty decent (its not as yellow as in the picture, thats just cos of the light in my room)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps13b9f1fd.jpg

even the action on the neck seems ok. its a bit buzzy from about the 6th fret down but hopefully i can sort that later-ive ordered a fret file to work on setting it up.

ive got a few more things i need to look at next
-wiring, i can solder a bit, im hunting down the wiring diagrams for this guitar atm
-pickguard. the cut of the pickguard was a bit crap from the factory. the shape doesnt quite follow the contour of the guitar body so im going to try and get that matched up a bit better by reshaping it a bit
-setting it up. i figured i might as well learn about this, be a useful skill to have

so actually now i think about it, not that much more to do. Its been fun working on this guitar and especially now its coming together! theres things id do differently if i did it again, but i still think its gonna come out nice

theres a few scratches on the body i didnt manage to get out. i sanded the shit out of it, but with the cap being so thin i was cautious on the top. there was one spot where i sanded too far at the edge but you cant notice it unless youre looking for it. i figure guitars always get a few chips and dings in them over time anyway, but next time id like to try one without a cap and binding.
id also be keen to try a different finish, maybe one with a high gloss, im not sure.

anyhow yeah just thought i would do a little update now its coming along, peace out

If you're using the stock electronics you essentially want the 2 Humbucker wiring diagram but with the 3-way lever switch from the 2 Single Coil wiring diagram, if that makes sense. So, if you're using the stock two wire humbuckers, you can just wire them like the single coil diagram (the output connects to the middle lugs of the lever switch).

i just printed out the 2 humbuckers to 2 pots and 3 way switch one to use

this one http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...pdf/PRS-1S.pdf

im thinking ill get the switch and pots all soldered together now but not solder the pickups in yet because the wires have to be threaded into the body of the guitar

i still need to slightly enlarge the body cavities for the pickups anyway, they were always a real tight fit from the start but now the pickguard is skewing because the pickups are so tight against the body. or maybe i could file down the leg bits where the screws thread into on the pickups themselves...hmmmm

edit: aha! now that i actually looked at the three way switch i have, yes its totally different to the diagram i printed, thanks for pointing that out! im not concentrating properly, im going to go make a cup of tea and a sandwich before i tackle this

Hey Ben, are you a Perthite ? Build looking good. I built a thinline few months ago and had to same problems, the pup cavities needed widening and the pickguard a bit of filing/shaping near the bridge.
Think you will find the only soldering required are the pups to the switch on the 2 single coil diagram and the output jack. Do this at the end as once the pups are soldered to the switch it is really awkward to lift the pickguard if you need to check any solder joins.
Good to see your cat Megsy/Ginger is happy to help out !

Ben, here's a quick and rough mashup of the two diagrams to show how to wire the 3-way lever switch with the humbuckers. Hope it helps.


http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...1TH_wiring.jpg

thanks weirdbits, thats awesome.

wokka, yeah im in perth and yeah the pup cavitys are gonna need a bit more work before i can get onto the wiring

so im at the exciting soldering stage, but have a query regarding the above diagram.

the "hot" wire coming from the volume to the output jack, does it connect across both contacts on the volume or just to the middle one? its not quite clear in the diagram, and i dont wanna blow my amp/myself up!

cheers

Hi Ben, I'm no wiring guru (in fact far from it), but when I built my TL-1TH I used this diagram. Its basically the same as the one Scott posted but it shows the pots in a bit clearer detail. Its obviously meant for SD pickups, but once you've got your head around the different wire colours its pretty straight forward.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support...ic=2h_1v_1t_3w

Hope it helps.

rob

ok perfect, just needed to check that wire wasnt meant to overlap both points on the pot, can finish this up now and get it tested! cheers

Hi Ben,

Robin's diagram shows it correctly, the PBG diagram is just a little awkward with the way the wires overlap. The brown 'hot' wire in the PBG diagram connects from the 'tip' lug of the jack to the middle lug (only) of the volume pot, and the green wire connects from the right lug (only) of the volume pot to the left lug on the tone pot. Also, the left lug on the volume pot is connected/soldered to the pot casing as it needs to connect to ground. The right lug of the tone pot should not have a connection. The capacitor is connected from the middle lug of the tone pot to the pot casing. Make sure the legs of the cap don't short against anything else once it is in place (you can slide some plastic sleeving from a stripped wire onto the legs before you solder it if you're worried).

Note: the left/right lugs I'm referring to is based on how they are drawn in the PBG diagram I posted.

glad you got the wiring sorted Ben, its not that hard once you built a few axes it gets easier

Quote:

---

/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from WeirdBits on May 20, 2014, 12:50
Hi Ben,

Robin's diagram shows it correctly, the PBG diagram is just a little awkward with the way the wires overlap. The brown 'hot' wire in the PBG diagram connects from the 'tip' lug of the jack to the middle lug (only) of the volume pot, and the green wire connects from the right lug (only) of the volume pot to the left lug on the tone pot. Also, the left lug on the volume pot is connected/soldered to the pot casing as it needs to connect to ground. The right lug of the tone pot should not have a connection. The capacitor is connected from the middle lug of the tone pot to the pot casing. Make sure the legs of the cap don't short against anything else once it is in place (you can slide some plastic sleeving from a stripped wire onto the legs before you solder it if you're worried).

Note: the left/right lugs I'm referring to is based on how they are drawn in the PBG diagram I posted.

---

cheers for the clarification, yeah i just couldnt quite tell on the diagram, wanted to check. I had already put shielding on the cap leg as well because i too was worried about it shorting!

i didnt really take many pics as i was doing the soldering, though it took me a few hours to get it sorted and the scratchplate drilled. i lined the cavity with some copper slug tape (good tip that, i read it somewhere on this forum ages ago-dunno if its made a difference because i didnt test the electronics beforehand).

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps7f276255.jpg

then theres a pic of it plugged in for testing next to my crappy (but awesome) squier tele (these pics are off my phone hence why theyre kind of shit)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps7ac8c1ee.jpg

and a final pic with the control knob covers on, and also drilled for the strap buttons.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps55bd5093.jpg
it sounds kind of shitty at the moment because ive not set it up properly but its all working and im super happy how it came out. not got time to dial it in today as ive got to head out and run some errands, but will get it sorted tomorrow hopefully. im also waiting on a fret file so i can dress the frets, its kind of buzzy right now.

been great fun building this, i want to make another already, gonna have to have a think though. im tempted by a tele deluxe even though its real similar to this, hmm cant decide

wow the neck looks insanely yellow, its not that severe to the eye, that must be because of the lighting in my room!

looks great Ben. Yer the neck is very yellow, may need sunglasses to look at it, as you say its not as yellow in the flesh

That looks unreal mate, wicked job. You need to get some pics together and enter it into gotm.

Looks amazing Ben! I really love the thinline. Have never seen one that didn't look amazing and yours is no exception! Awesome job. Any chance of a sound demo??

cheers,
Gav.

Looking good mate!

great result mate.

And don't knock Squiers, my Strat's build quality is as good as any name Fender - an electronics upgrade is all you need and then they are as good

yep i agree, i love how my squier tele plays, neck feels great.

i got a bridge pickup off a mexican tele for free ages back in there so its a bit better than the standard one, the neck one is a bit weedy though, im thinking of upgrading both sometime soon

back several months later-because my original pics were woefully shit i was meaning to take some better ones, but due to working away, travelling back to the uk for 6 weeks (pom status), and moving house, i didnt get around to until now.

still not great but i took them on my camera camera this time instead of my phone

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps8562aa28.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps6e83b703.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps0cd736a1.jpg

the colour looks so warm under indoor lighting, its kind of hard to capture on camera. I was expecting it to be darker but it turned out nice i think. the colour is deffos richer on the back. also i was scheptical about the vintage yellow for the fretboard (all the other woodtone neck colours were out of stock when i bought the colour for the body so i just thought screw it), but i actually think it really suits it.

excuse the manky string fitting, it still needs a fret dressing (for which i need to get hold of a radiused block of wood) cos its pretty twangy and buzzy when played, but im lazy and have just been playing it anyway. got some more detailed close ups of the body ill upload in a minute

another close up of the body thats a bit dark (meh)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psec462209.jpg

these give a better indication of how the colour looks under my lounge lighting
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps611cdc96.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps55aa5630.jpg

and the back
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps39719164.jpg

i added a flush jack mount i got off ebay for like $5 (should have recessed it but id already woodtoned by this point and didnt want to chew up the finish)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psf63d6546.jpg

if im being critical, i should have made a new scratchplate cos the pickup holes in the stock one were cut a bit shoddy and when i went to try and fix them up with a file i didnt do a great job. Id have to cut one myself though and cant really be bothered, i will probably do it if i ever get around to upgrading the pickups
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...psd84a7ff0.jpg

also the top side of the neck slot was cut a tiny bit wide so theres a small gap there-i would have prefered it to be flush but again meh, these are things that only I would notice and doesnt affect the playability of the guitar. i also put a few small little dings in the top while filing out the pickup cavities (they were cut way too small from factory) which i couldnt sand out because the cap is pretty thin and i was worried about going through it.

also when i played it i noticed the neck was a bit thicker than my squier-wish id filed that down and shaped it a bit more

considering the nature of the kit being hollow, having a thin cap, and binding im happy with how it turned out.
im gonna do anther tele i think, cant decide between a deluxe or a normal style tele (nearly won that alder one for $20 on the sale but the payment page was too slow dammit). ive learned a lot from this build so hopefully will be able to apply all this newfound knowledge to really dial in my next one.

however i dont really have the money to start another atm (the cost mounts up with woodtone and then having to buy tools now i dont have access to all of my dads ones hah), and i should probably get the neck setup properly on this one first.
but yeah so glad i bought this kit (it was a complete impulse decision after a collegue showed me the site) and now have a guitar i can be proud of - its so satisfying to play something youve put together yourself (even though its basically the stock kit haha). looking forward to my next one already, whenever that may be!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y35...ps6be67b1d.jpg

looks sweet Ben well done on the mods

nice job Ben.

Ben a suggestion, presuming you live in Perth, you better not give your home address to the tele napper, it may disappear from your collection !